New York City, Mr. Trump’s hometown, would be particularly hard hit by the proposed budget cuts to FEMA.
The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city could lose millions for programs under FEMA, including counterterrorism assistance grants. The Police Department uses the grants for its bomb squad, dog training, intelligence analysis, active-shooter training and on equipment to detect radiological and chemical attacks.
The budget also eliminates money for efforts to improve and redraw the nation’s flood maps and cuts about $90 million from the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. The program provides funding to local communities to move people to safer locations and to help rebuild schools, hospitals and police and fire stations so they can better withstand the impact of hurricanes and coastal storms.
Many of the programs have received bipartisan support. Lawmakers from areas that are frequently struck by natural disasters or are thought to be targets of terrorist attacks are unlikely to support reductions in funding, said Michael Coen, former chief of staff at FEMA in the Obama administration.
“The new FEMA administrator is going to have quite the challenge defending the president’s budget and working with Congress to make sure that there is money for programs that they care about,” Mr. Coen said.
